Nightingale At The Museum Oneshots
by VibeQuake
Summary: A collection of oneshots taking place all across the timeline of my Nightingale At The Museum stories. Expect fluff, angst, OCs, and mayhem ;)
1. Four's Not A Crowd

**Four's Not A Crowd**

 **Takes Place: between NATSM and NATBM.**

 **…**

"I really don't think this is a good idea," murmured Octavius.

Jedediah the cowboy gave him a punch to the shoulder that nearly caused him to fall off the ceiling light. "Then git back on that airplane and fly back down ta yer little city, then, and leave the daredevilin' ta the REAL men!"

The miniature Roman scowled. "First of all, "daredeviling" isn't a real word. And secondly, Hilda's not a man."

"I'm more of a man than you!" hooted Hilda, nudging Octavius with the butt of her axe. The axe that Jed had somehow managed to persuade both his blacksmith to make and Larry to let her keep. She also had a sword on her belt, a shield on her back, and a gun in a holster strapped to her leg. She was more weaponised than both Jed and Octavius put together. "Are you in or are you out?"

Octavius grimaced. "You can't even be certain you'll catch one."

"Oh, we KNOW we'll catch one," grinned Jed. "Hilda's an expert wrangler, ain't ya?"

"I wrangled you two as my friends!" Hilda responded cheerfully.

The Roman general raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not a cowgirl? You act like one."

"That's mah sister's influence," Jed chortled. "We need 'nother buddy ta even out th' daredevils and th' wimps."

"I am not a wimp!" Octavius drew himself up haughtily. "I am General Octavius, later known as the first Emperor of-!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's get going," Hilda interrupted, nudging him a little harder with the end of her axe.

Octavius flailed as he lost his balance, but Jed grabbed the front of his tunic and hauled him back onto the ceiling light. "Careful, Hilda," the cowboy warned. "Ain't none of us gonna survive a fall from this height."

"Oh, true." Hilda beamed. "Don't wanna kill my only friends, do I?"

"Only friends?" Jed grinned. "What about Flo?"

"She's awesome, but you guys are my own size," Hilda pointed out. "I kinda feel like you're my brothers. I'd say "the brothers I never had", but I DID have a brother. I guess you ARE the brothers I never had, cuz Bjorn never did this kinda stuff with me."

Jed and Octavius exchanged a glance. "You view us as your brothers?" the latter asked slowly.

Hilda nodded, still beaming. "Yeah! We have all sorts of adventures together!"

The two men gave a synchronised chuckle. "Yeah, we definitely do," Jed agreed. "Now let's git on wit' the next one!"

Hilda cheered, while Octavius groaned, "This is a bad idea!"

"C'mon, what part of lassoing a wild owl and ridin' it through the museum is a bad idea?" Jed grinned.

"Literally everything you just said," Octavius countered.

"It's coming!" Hilda whooped suddenly. "LOOK!"

The two men whirled round to see a snowy white owl flying straight towards them. They ducked but Hilda remained standing and launched herself off the ceiling light as the owl passed. She hit the side of the feathered bird and managed to grab its feathers to stop herself from falling. However, she could feel herself losing her grip.

"Ho!" came a female voice from somewhere above Hilda.

Frowning, the Viking woman looked up and, to her shock, spotted a strangely dressed woman sitting atop the bird. She was wearing just a long skirt and a short top, and she had a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. She also had weird face paint.

"Who in the name of Odin are you?" Hilda demanded.

Instead of answering, the woman leant down and offered her hand to Hilda, who made a split second decision to reach up and take it, just before she lost her grip. The woman pulled her onto the back of the bird and let out an odd-sounding war cry as she urged the owl into a dive.

"Go back up!" yelled Hilda over the sound of the wind. "Go get my friends!"

At first, it seemed like the woman hadn't heard her. Then, just before they hit the ground, she pulled the owl up into a sharp ascent and flew it back towards the ceiling light. Hilda let out a long holler of delight; this was FUN! She was having FAR more fun here than she ever did alive.

As the bird soared past, Hilda reached out her hand towards the two men on the light. She just managed to see Jed grinning before he ran and leapt off the fixture, landing very similarly to how Hilda did. Luckily, Hilda herself was right there to grab his hand and pull him onto the back of the owl.

"Looks like someone beat us to the wrangling," Hilda bellowed.

"Yeah, clearly," Jed shouted back, grinning. "Come on, Ockie!"

Octavius didn't look sure, now. He waited for the right time, then took a running jump off the ceiling light. However, the owl jerked sharply at just the wrong moment, and the miniature Roman missed his mark.

"OCTAVIUS!" screamed Hilda and Jed in terror.

The woman in front of them hollered another war cry and jerked the owl into another sharp dive. The bird quickly overtook the falling miniature and pulled up just in time for Octavius to fall right onto its feathery back. Jed immediately pounced on his best friend and held him in place until the owl landed on the reception desk and came to a complete stop, such a sudden stop that Hilda and Octavius both fell right off and landed on the desk.

"THAT," breathed Octavius. "WAS WHY. IT WASN'T. A GOOD IDEA. TO WRANLGE. AN OWL."

"Lesson learnt?" Hilda offered weakly, flopping onto her back as she let the adrenaline course out of her body.

"Are ya okay?!" Jed gasped, dropping down next to his best friend.

Octavius glared at him, causing him to take a step back. "Yes, I'm fine. No thanks to you or you crazy plan."

"To be fair, it was MY crazy plan," Hilda said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ockie."

The general sighed and lay back on the desk. "Just give me a moment to recover."

Suddenly, the woman stepped towards them, a spear in her hand. "You court danger," she said in broken English.

"Hell yeah," Jed grinned, before falling silent at Octavius's look. "Y-Yeah, generally…"

"My name Akna," she said. "You Roman." She jabbed her finger at Octavius, then at Jed. "You American." She turned her gaze on Hilda. "Who you?"

"Viking," offered Hilda. "Norse."

"Vi-king," Akna tried. "Nose?"

"Close enough." Hilda shrugged.

"I know you," Octavius said suddenly, narrowing his eyes. "You are that Mayan princess."

"A Mayan?" Jed yelped, suddenly looking a lot more alert. His hand went to his gun.

"Don't you dare," Hilda snapped at him. "She just saved us, remember?"

The cowboy froze, his hand still on his gun. "Yeah, but Mayans are dangerous."

"I not dangerous," Akna objected. "You dangerous. You invade my lands with fire and blades. We say no. You continue anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Hilda shot a pointed glare at the men.

"Then why'd ya save us?" demanded Jed. "If ya hate us so much, why'd ya save us?"

"Because you two good leaders," Akna replied, jabbing her finger at Jed and Octavius again in turn. "I respect good leaders."

"I'm sure you're a good leader too," Hilda said, beaming, as she jumped to her feet and held out her hand. "I'm Brynhild Kettilsdotir, but you can call me Hilda."

Akna eyed the hand, before shaking it warily. "Is this Vi-king custom?"

"Not just Vikings," replied Hilda. "Everyone does it."

"I am everyone," Akna retorted. "And I do not do this."

Hilda fell silent, considering this. "Hey, can you take us for a ride on the owl?"

"Speak for yourself," Octavius muttered.

"Can you take ME for a ride on the owl?" Hilda amended, looking pleadingly at Akna. "You fly really well! I'd love to learn from you."

"She's not gonna-," Jed began.

"Learning good," Akna said at the same time. "Teaching better. I teach."

Hilda beamed and turned to smirk at Jed, who scowled back. "I wanna come too," the cowboy said. "How 'bout you, Ockie? There ain't gonna be no fallin' this time."

Octavius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of course. Someone has to keep you lot in line."

"General Octavius." Akna stood up straighter. "And Sheriff Jedediah. It will be honour for me."

The two men glanced at each other, then Jed smirked again. "See, it's an honour. Now ya gotta do it."

Slinging her spear onto her back, Akna climbed onto the back of the owl and jerked with her head. "Climb. We fly."

"Sounds good to me," Hilda grinned.


	2. Hide And Seek Bonding part 1 of 2

**Hide And Seek Bonding**

 **Takes place: between NATSM and NATBM**

…

"Finding four miniatures in a museum this size?" muttered Neil Armstrong, lifting the papers on the front desk. "Suuuuure. Piece of cake."

"Stop complaining," Ahkmenrah sighed back. "It is getting tiresome."

"Why exactly were WE chosen for this? Out of EVERYONE in the museum?"

"Florrie thought that we could do with the bonding time," Ahkmenrah replied wearily. "I believe she said something along the lines of, "a groom should know his best man inside and out." What I do not understand is why you are my best man. You are Florrie's best friend, not mine."

"Who would you consider your best friend, then?" grumbled Neil, sitting himself down on Florence Nightingale's plinth.

"I...do not know," the pharaoh admitted. "Aside from Florrie, I don't really get along with many people here."

"Really? What about Teddy?"

"Teddy is...more of a father to me," Ahkmenrah replied. "And everyone else only sees me as a prince, not as a person. That is part of the reason I love Florrie so much; she sees past my royalty, to the person I am underneath."

"Although most of the reason is that she's a badass warrior nurse with a heart of gold and the spirit of a lion, right?" Neil grinned.

Ahkmenrah chuckled. "Yes, indeed. That is probably what attracted me to her in the first place."

"I thought it was the fact that she was the first visitor you had in fifty years and you fell in love with her voice?"

"No, not exactly," Ahkmenrah replied. "I fell in love with her via the way she spoke. She was so kind, passionate, fiery… Before I knew what she looked like, I built this image of her in my head, and when I finally met her face to face, that image paled in comparison to her real beauty."

Neil fell silent, unsure of what to say to that. While he loved Florence dearly as a friend, he wasn't sure he liked hearing about how her fiancé fell in love with her; he himself had had feelings for her back when they first met. They were gone now, of course, but...it was still painful sometimes.

After a few minutes in silence, Neil stood up and stretched. "Well, they're clearly not in here. Let's move on to the Hall of African Mammals."

The pharaoh glanced over at him in surprise. "Really? I would have thought you would never wish to go there again, after being imprisoned in there every night for fifty years."

"Same with you and your coffin," Neil shot back.

Ahkmenrah hesitated. "I suppose that's true. Just try not to anger any lionesses while you're in there this time."

"Aw man, there go my plans for this evening," Neil deadpanned. "How dare you."

"Please, let's go. I wish to get this over with so I can spend time with my fiancée before the sun rises."

So the two men travelled to the Hall of African Mammals, both of them wishing they hadn't been sucked into this situation. It was absolutely typical for Jed, Octavius, Hilda, and Akna to go missing AN HOUR AND A HALF before sunrise, though both men secretly suspected that Florence had set the whole thing up in order for Ahkmenrah and Neil to spend more time together. As Ahkmenrah had said, Florence believed that they needed to get to know each other better, since Neil was going to be the pharaoh's best man. The two men just wished the "bonding" didn't have to be searching for four needles in a museum-shaped haystack.

When they got to the Hall of African Mammals, the first thing they heard was a loud cheering sound that sounded very familiar.

"Jed…" Neil sighed and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised that HE's here?"

"That probably means Octavius is here too," Ahkmenrah said. "They never go anywhere without the other. Hilda and Akna are probably elsewhere, together."

"I beg to differ," Neil stated, staring into the room.

Ahkmenrah winced, already anticipating what he would see. He peered round the gate and found his suspicions confirmed: on a branch near the entrance stood Jedediah the cowboy and Akna the Mayan, the latter of whom was wrestling with a snake while the former cheered her on.

"Jed!" Neil hissed, getting the cowboy's attention. "What the hell?!"

"O-Oh… H-Hi…" Jed grinned sheepishly and waved. "Akna, I think we should-."

He was interrupted by the snake suddenly diving from the tree, taking Akna with it. Ahkmenrah and Neil both gasped sharply, but the miniature Mayan was hanging on remarkably well, even when the snake twisted and writhed in order to try and shake her off.

While Neil fumbled with unlocking the gate, Ahkmenrah edged closer to the branch and snapped, "Where are Octavius and Hilda, Jedediah?"

The cowboy winced. "I think they're still around somewhere. Last I saw 'em, they were over by the zebra."

Ahkmenrah groaned. "Fantastic. And exactly WHY did you decide to take on carnivorous animals over thirty times your size?"

Jed winced again. "I...ain't sure…"

As Neil pulled the gate open, Ahkmenrah reached up with his hand and Jed hopped onto it. "Stay out of trouble," the pharaoh scolded. "I know sometimes that's like telling you not to breathe, but try for now, okay?"

The cowboy nodded quickly. "I-I'll try."

While Ahkmenrah placed Jed on the bench opposite the gate, Neil slipped inside the Hall of African Mammals and, ignoring the wave of bad memories that washed through his brain at that moment, searched round for any miniatures in the vicinity.

The first one he spotted was Hilda, though how, he didn't know; she was on top of the hanging ceiling light. Unable to reach her for now, Neil had to settle for trying to tempt the snake to drop Akna, who was now dangling in its jaws.

"Here, snakey snakey snakey," Neil called, rather terrified, as he held his hand out towards the snake as if it was a dog.

"NEIL!" Ahkmenrah's voice gasped loudly from somewhere behind the astronaut. "What are you DOING?!"

"T-Trying to tame a wild and probably venomous snake," Neil replied nervously. "P-Piece of cake."

At that moment, a small needle-like object came shooting down from the ceiling and embedded itself in the snake's top jaw, causing the animal to open its mouth and shriek in pain. Reacting quickly, Neil scooped Akna out of the air and retreated as fast as he could, almost bumping into Ahkmenrah as he did.

"Hilda's on the ceiling light," the astronaut panted. "I d-dunno where Octavius is. I'll get Akna out of here; you deal with the lion."

"L-Lion?" repeated Ahkmenrah nervously, but Neil had disappeared before the pharaoh could question what he meant.

Unfortunately, he found out a moment later.


	3. Hide And Seek Bonding part 2 of 2

Ahkmenrah yelped and retreated into the bushes in order to avoid the massive beast coming prowling towards him. As he did, he heard a familiar voice ask, "Is the lion gone?"

The pharaoh glared at the miniature Roman on the branch next to him. "NO. And you are in BIG trouble, Octavius."

The Roman grimaced. "Yes...I understand. Are Jed and the women okay?"

"Jed and Akna have been rescued. Hilda is apparently currently on the ceiling light."

Octavius shivered. "I will not pretend I had no part in this poor decision, but in my defence, I did protest against it."

"If either Neil or I die or get injured in the attempt to rescue you, it won't matter who protested against it," Ahkmenrah snapped.

The miniature Roman fell silent. Ahkmenrah reached up and clasped Octavius in his hand, before drawing him close to the pharaoh's body to keep him safe.

Just as Ahkmenrah was preparing to leave his hiding spot, he heard a female scream. The pharaoh peered out of the bushes in shock and was just in time to spot Hilda falling off the light and straight into Neil's hands. Ahkmenrah darted out from behind the bush and joined the astronaut in the middle of the room, before immediately regretted his decision when not one but THREE lions turned on them, getting ready to spring.

"What's the plan?" Neil muttered under his breath.

Not replying straight away, Ahkmenrah slowly transferred Octavius to Neil's hands, next to Hilda. "Move slowly backwards," he instructed out the corner of his mouth. "Don't make any sudden moves."

The astronaut slowly shuffled backwards, one step at a time. Ahkmenrah waited for a moment, his eyes trained on the three lions, before following even more slowly. At first, it seemed like none of the big cats realised that Neil and Ahkmenrah were even moving. However, Neil's heel got caught on a loose nail in the floorboards, causing him to stumble sharply. With a loud growl, the first lion pounced.

"MOVE!" Ahkmenrah yelled, scrambling away from the angered predator.

He pushed Neil through the gate and grabbed both sides, ready to close the door. As he was pushing the gate closed, the lions reached him and tried to attack. Neil quickly joined the pharaoh and just about managed to close the gate before the lions could come through.

"Neil!" Ahkmenrah gasped, shoving the astronaut out of the way of the lion's claws coming through the gate.

However, the pharaoh wasn't so lucky.

Neil turned sharply as he heard Ahkmenrah cry out in pain. The former grabbed the latter's wrist and pulled him away from the gate, sending both of them tumbling to the floor. They watched, terrified, as the lions continued to paw at the gate, before giving up a few minutes later.

Neil turned to the pharaoh, who was nursing his left forearm. When Ahkmenrah pulled his hand away, Neil was shocked to see a three large, bloodied claw marks scored across the pharaoh's skin.

"Are you okay?!" Neil gasped.

His face turning pale, Ahkmenrah stiffly nodded. "I-It does hurt, b-but I am alright. Yourself?"

"I'm fine," the astronaut panted. "Thanks to you."

"W-We are SO sorry," came Octavius's shaky voice.

Neil and Ahkmenrah both turned their heads to look at the four miniatures on the bench. Octavius and Jed were sitting next to each other, both looking pale and shaken, while nearby, Hilda supported Akna, who seemed to be in shock.

"Please say you've at least learnt your lesson," sighed Neil.

"We have," replied Octavius, while Jed and Hilda nodded somberly at the same time.

At that moment, another familiar face came rushing round the corner, looking worried. "Ahk!" she gasped, dropping to her knees beside the pharaoh.

"I-I am fine," Ahkmenrah stammered.

Florence Nightingale turned on the four miniatures and snapped, "Ahk and Neil could have died because of you!"

All four miniatures, even Akna, bowed their heads. Nobody liked disappointing or upsetting Florence. "W-We're really sorry, Flo," Hilda said quietly.

Letting out a short, low growl, Florence turned back to her fiancé and got a bandage out of her apron pocket. As she started cleaning up the wound, she said, "I'm sorry, you two. If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have-."

"Hey, it's okay, Flo," Neil assured her, patting her shoulder. "I think we learnt something here."

"Speak for yourself," Ahkmenrah muttered.

The astronaut chuckled. "Well, I learnt that Ahkmenrah is very cool under pressure and will always stand his ground."

The pharaoh glanced sideways at him, before saying, "And I learnt that, when threatened, Neil Armstrong will do the exact opposite."

"Ouch." Neil scowled. "I was trying to be nice."

"Ahk, I know this wound is painful, but please don't take your emotions out on Neil," Florence scolded gently.

The pharaoh closed his eyes and bent his head. "...my apologies."

"You know, you remind me of my younger siblings," Neil chuckled. "I had two: June and Dean. They also didn't know how to give compliments." **(1)**

"I…" Ahkmenrah swallowed. "You don't remind me at all of my older brother."

"I should think not," Neil snorted. "No offense."

Ahkmenrah shook his head, wincing as Florence began bandaging his wound. "That is why I'm struggling with you. I find it hard, because you're nothing like anyone I've ever met, so I don't know how to respond to you. I...I do see you as a brother, though. The brother I wish I had when I was alive."

Neil blinked in surprise, then blinked again to clear his misty vision. "I… Th-Thank you, Ahk. I shall take that compliment and return it with another of my own: you're definitely like a little brother to me, as well. Even though you're probably older than me, not counting the thousands of years you spent as a mummy."

Ahkmenrah chuckled weakly. "You'd be surprised."

He reached out with his uninjured hand, and Neil shook it.

Maybe they didn't know each other "inside and out" yet, but they knew enough about each other to know that they would be good friends.

…

 **(1) This is actually true. The historic Neil Armstrong had two younger siblings called June and Dean. However, I made up the "fact" that they found it hard to give compliments XD**


	4. Trauma

**Trauma**

 **Takes place: between NATSM and NATBM**

 **…**

"…so I think we should have pink flowers instead of white," Hilda continued. "That way, they won't blend in against your dress."

"Good idea," Florence mused. "What kind of pink flowers are there, Neil?"

"Pink roses," Neil replied. "Pink carries with it the connotation of grace and elegance, as well as sweetness and poetic romance. Dark pink roses are symbolic of gratitude and appreciation, and are a traditional way to say thanks. Light pink roses are associated with gentleness and admiration, and can also be used as an expression of sympathy."

"Perhaps not roses, then," Florence said, chuckling. "How do you know all that?"

"Ahkmenrah and I studied all kinds of flowers so that we could be useful when the problem of flowers comes up in conversation with you two," Neil replied. "How about Forget-Me-Nots?"

"Forget-Me-Nots?" Florence repeated, cocking her head on one side.

Neil beamed. "Forget-Me-Not plants symbolize true love. And as the name suggests, they are given or used to decorate gifts with the hope the recipient will not forget the giver. It also symbolizes faithful love and memories."

"Yes, I like that," Florence agreed. "Faithful love and memories. What colour are they?"

"Light blue," replied Neil. "They would also go well with white."

"Yes, I-."

At that moment, Florence was interrupted by a loud yell of her name. She and Neil both spun round and found Sacagawea running towards them, her hand out, palm up. As she got closer, Florence realised that a miniature was standing on the native woman's hand.

"Akna?" Florence drew nearer, frowning down at the miniature. "What's going on?"

"Sheriff Jedediah is in trouble," Akna replied, worry showing on her face for the first time since anyone had known her. "Please help."

"Show me."

Sacagawea led Florence and Hilda towards the janitor's closet, inside which they found a small, locked toolbox with Octavius standing next to it, trying to pick the lock.

"What happened?" Florence demanded.

"J-Jedediah got locked inside this toolbox," Octavius replied breathlessly. "He's p-panicking."

Florence bent down beside the toolbox on the counter and gently tapped on it with her finger. "Jed?"

"GIT ME OUTTA HERE!" they heard the cowboy's terrified voice screaming, before a panicked bashing noise started up from inside the toolbox.

Reacting quickly, Florence hurried to the key safe on the wall and grabbed the toolbox's key. She moved everyone away from the toolbox, knowing that Jed would be in a bad state when he got out. "I need you all to leave."

"What?" Octavius shook his head firmly. "Jedediah is my best friend and I-."

"Octavius," Florence snapped, turning to glare at him. "Get. Out."

Sacagawea swiftly picked up Octavius and took Hilda from Florence's shoulder, before taking the three miniatures out of the room. Florence quickly shut the door and locked it, before hurriedly unlocking the toolbox. Amongst the pile of tools lay Jed, curled up in a ball, almost being crushed between a hammer and a screwdriver. Florence reached into the toolbox and cupped her hands around the miniature, bringing him out of the suffocating space. She made sure to flatten her hands so that the miniature cowboy wouldn't still feel confined. She watched anxiously as Jed relaxed from his curled up position, but his eyes didn't open. "Jed? Jed, can you hear me?"

When the cowboy didn't respond, Florence fell silent and slowly rocked her hands, softly rubbing him with her thumb and blowing gently on him. After a few tense minutes, Jed took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out again. "F-F-Flo…?"

"Lie still," Florence instructed him. "How are you feeling?"

"S-Stiff," Jed croaked. "W-Where's O-O-Ockie?"

"I sent him and the others out," replied the nurse. "I thought you might not want your best friends to see you like this."

"G-Good call…"

Florence sat down on the old armchair in the office and shifted Jed to one hand, allowing the miniature to lie on his back to recover.

"Do you need anything?" the nurse asked.

Jed slowly shook his head and didn't speak.

"You probably think I think you're pathetic," Florence began, "but I don't. The claustrophobia you felt was stemmed from being put into an hourglass and almost suffocating. It's normal for that to happen. PTSD often triggers extreme fears. It did it to me, too."

Jed opened his eyes again and stared up at her. "What?"

"My experience of being threatened by Kahmunrah," Florence explained. "Sometimes, I still feel his hand on my shoulder and his blade against my back. It may not seem like it, but now I'm deathly afraid of being touched from behind. That's why I punched Teddy in the face when he came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder two days ago."

Jed chuckled weakly. "I rem'ber tha'."

"It's also why I constantly keep looking over my shoulder," added Florence, shivering as she forced herself not to do the exact same thing now. "Even though I know it won't happen, I keep thinking someone's going to attack me from behind again. That stemmed from the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I received from being ambushed by Kahmunrah."

The miniature cowboy rubbed his wrist slowly. "Yeah…I git tha'. I guess tha's why I don' like bein' under stuff no more…"

"It reminds you of being under the sand," Florence stated softly.

"Yeah…" Jed shivered. "So it's normal tha' I'm still scared o' cramped spaces?"

"Completely normal," Florence assured him. "Some PTSD never goes away, some lessens with time, and some does disappear completely. But no matter what happens with your trauma, know that you aren't weak or pathetic. Whether it increases in strength, decreases in strength, or goes away completely, I promise you don't have to feel weak."

To her relief, Jed seemed to be understanding and believing what she was saying. "Th-Thanks. I think I'm ready ta see mah friends again."

Florence nodded and stood up. The cowboy also got to his feet on her palm as she unlocked and opened the door, finding Sacagawea standing a few metres away with the miniatures arguing loudly on her hand.

"Please stop arguing," Sacagawea was begging.

"I told you not to play with the toolbox!" shouted Hilda angrily. "You KNOW Jed is scared of small spaces!"

"We didn't play with it!" Octavius shouted back, matching her anger. "Jed wanted to get something from the desk but he tripped, okay?! I had NOTHING to do with this!"

"GUYS," Florence snapped, coming up to them. "Jed is FINE."

She held out her palm next to Sacagawea's, and the three other miniatures hopped over to join Jed. After Sacagawea left, Florence placed the four miniatures down on a bench and sat down on the floor next to it, watching them closely.

None of them seemed to know what to say. Eventually, Jed said, "So… I'm fine now."

That flipped Hilda's switch and made her grab Jed in a tight hug. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah, Hilda, I'm fine." The cowboy tolerated the hug for a minute, before pointedly pushing the Viking away. "I'm fine. Jus'…please don' let meh do that ever 'gain. 'Kay?"

Hilda laughed weakly. "Don't worry, brother; I'll never let anything like that happen again."

The miniature cowboy matched her laugh, before turning to Octavius, who had stayed silent so far. "Ockie?"

"I…" The Roman cleared his throat. "I am glad you are okay."

Seconds later, Octavius found himself being hugged by Jed. In the few seconds it took for him to relax into the embrace, Hilda and Akna had joined them as well.

Florence smiled as she watched them. Just like she herself had Neil and Ahkmenrah to help her get over her trauma, Jed had Octavius, Hilda, and Akna. The four miniatures had become such a close-knit family, even Akna, who had only joined the group a few days previously. It was almost astounding, considering how different their four civilisations were.

 _But then again,_ thought Florence, _I'm getting married to an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh and my best friend is the first man on the moon. And WE all get along just fine._

She made brief eye contact with Jed, who gave her a weak smile. She smiled back. It was going to take some time, but they were doing it.

They were healing.


	5. Dating A Princess

**Dating A Princess**

 **Takes Place: in my A House Divided universe.**

…

"Are you alright?" Persenet asked concernedly, frowning across at her date as they walked down the most silent corridor in the Museum of Natural History. "You are pale. And I do not think you have stopped twisting your sleeve since we set off."

"S-Sorry." Neil Armstrong took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I'm just nervous that you won't like where I'm taking you. I mean, the museum doesn't really have any great date spots."

"The point of courting is not always the places you visit," the Egyptian princess responded. "It is the person whom you are courting that always matters more."

"But you wouldn't want to have a date in a soggy cardboard box, though, would you? Let alone a first date?"

"As cold and unpleasant as that sounds, I would not mind so long as I was with you."

Neil blinked in surprise, his tone changing. "R-Really?" he said hopefully.

"I would not have agreed to let you court me if I did not see some potential in you," Persenet said, gazing up at the walls with a regal expression. "Besides, I fully understand how small the museum is and I would not-."

She broke off and stopped walking as she spotted something on the wall. Neil stopped a metre away from her and also glanced back, wondering what the Ancient Egyptian princess was looking at. Moving closer, he realised that the stone walls were covered with rows and rows of golden symbols, which were dulled so much that they were barely visible against the grey stone. He watched as Persenet lifted her slender hand and brushed the symbols with the tips of her fingers, her eyes moving from one symbol to another as if she was reading them.

"Are they hieroglyphics?" Neil asked slowly.

"Yes." Persenet traced one of the symbols with her finger, brushing away a layer of dust to make the tile more visible. "It is a prayer. A prayer to the sky goddess Nut."

Neil blinked again. "You guys had a goddess called Nut?"

"Have," corrected Persenet. "Ra is the sun god and Nut is the nighttime sky goddess. Every night, Nut swallows Ra so that she may live, and then the next morning, she gives birth to him again so that HE may live."

"What the heck?" Neil stared at Persenet in shock. "Are ALL your gods and goddesses that weird?"

"Weird?" repeated Persenet, frowning back at him. "What you may call weird, we call sacred and inspiring. The great goddess Nut swallows Ra whole every night and gives birth to him every morning, without fail. What part of that is not inspiring?"

"I guess you've got a point," Neil admitted. "What else about the gods is inspiring?"

"You wish to learn more about my culture?" Persenet's eyes widened somewhat. "But what about your...your… "date spot"?"

"Trust me, just sitting here on this bench and talking about your beliefs is way better than going to see the artefacts in storage."

Persenet blinked. "That was your date spot?"

Neil laughed awkwardly. "Well, I thought I could have done worse."

"Hm. I suppose you could have." Persenet smiled, then sat down on the bench opposite the wall of hieroglyphics. "Come."

Neil obeyed, sitting down next to her on the cold bench. They both stared up at the wall for a while, then Persenet said, "I saw Anubis."

"What?" Neil glanced across at her. "Who's Anubis?"

"The God of mummification," the Ancient Egyptian princess replied. "He guides the dead to their next life via the court of Osiris in the Underworld. He oversees the mummification process as well."

"He sounds...a little creepy. But important," Neil added quickly.

"He is both," Persenet chuckled. "And I saw him. After I died, I entered what I can only describe as the Underworld itself. Anubis guided me there. And when I arrived, I saw Osiris there. They looked exactly as they were pictured. They sent me on to the next life." She paused, her eyes seemingly fixated on one hieroglyph in particular. "But I do not remember my life after that."

"Wow…" Neil stared down at the ground. "You remember a lot, don't you."

"Yes." The princess clasped her hands together, interlocking her fingers. "Perhaps I only remember this much because this body and this mind are both my own."

"Oh, right. Whereas the rest of us are just wax copies of the people we're based on." Neil nodded slowly. "I understand, I think. So...what was it like, meeting a god?"

Persenet paused. "Awe-inspiring," she replied eventually. "That is the only way I can describe it. I cannot remember the feeling itself; only that I felt an emotion deep inside my stomach that made me feel as if I could become a goddess myself."

"I wish I could experience that," Neil chuckled.

"As do I." The princess continued to gaze at the wall. "I believe this prayer to the sky goddess Nut was written by my parents."

"What, really?" breathed Neil. "How can you tell?"

"The words are from their hearts. "O great sky goddess Nut, watch over our son as he finishes his journey with Anubis and enters his next life. Gift him with eternal happiness, for even though we will forever be apart, he will always live on inside our hearts."."

"It's...almost like poetry," Neil murmured.

"I myself spoke this prayer with my parents after Ahkmenrah died," Persenet said softly. "Except I of course said "my brother" instead of "our son"."

"That's really sweet, Persy."

Persenet glanced sharply at Neil, her expression changing. "What did you say?"

Neil had to think back over his last sentence at least twice before he realised exactly what he had said. His face paled somewhat. "O-Oh, I'm so sorry. It...slipped out."

"It is perfectly alright," the princess said slowly. "I was...simply not expecting you to address me by the name which only my brother has ever used."

"You're alright with it?" Neil asked warily.

Persenet nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "I rather like it."

Neil opened his mouth to reply, his face growing flushed, when he heard a tiny sound, like a very quiet sneeze. He blinked a couple of times in surprise, then frowned and turned in the direction of the noise. There, standing on the edge of the display case to the left of the hieroglyphics, stood two miniatures. Narrowing his eyes, Neil got to his feet and strode over to the case, recognising the two miniatures as he got closer. He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow.

"Damn," Jed muttered out the corner of his mouth to his accomplice. "I think we been discovered."

"You think?" Octavius scowled at him. "You could have TRIED to keep it in."

"Sneezes come ou' whenever they wan', man!" complained Jed.

"What are you two doing here?" demanded Neil crossly.

"N-Not spyin' on ya!" Jed laughed nervously. "Th-THAT'S fer sure."

Neil snorted, and Octavius closed his eyes briefly with a pained expression. "Well done, Jedediah. I do not think you can possibly screw this up any more."

"Who told you to spy on me?" Neil snapped.

"D-Definitely not that pharaoh guy!" Jed plastered a wide smile on his face.

Octavius pinched the bridge of his nose. "I stand corrected."

"Why did my brother ask you to watch us?" asked Persenet, joining Neil. Unlike him, she seemed curious and a little irritated, rather than angry.

"He was looking out for you, Miss," Octavius replied, nodding respectfully to the Ancient Egyptian princess. "He does not want you to get hurt."

"And does he think Neil will hurt me?" Persenet inquired, her tone suddenly laced with ice.

Octavius rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Y-You will have to ask him yourself."

"Oh, I shall," Persenet responded coldly. She turned and began striding down the corridor, then she stopped and turned back, an apologetic look on her face. "I am sorry, but I must go. Thank you for the date, Neil."

By the time Neil had waved back and said, "Anytime,", Persenet had vanished around the corner.

Neil turned a fierce glare back on the two miniatures, who both looked extremely awkward. "How long have you been spying on us?"

"We followed ya," Jed replied immediately. "We heard ya talkin' and followed yer voices. First thing we heard was sumthin' about meetin' a god."

Neil sighed internally. _So not long, then._ "I hope you know you were invading our privacy."

"We ARE sorry," Octavius piped up. "We won't do it again."

"Damn right you won't." Neil rolled his eyes and held out his hand towards them, palm up. "Come on, let's get back to our exhibits; it's nearly sunrise."

Jed and Octavius hopped onto his hand, and Neil began carrying them down the hallway. That had been a very pleasant, if surprising, first date.

He hoped there'd be many more.


	6. Family

**Family**

 **Takes Place: just after NATSM and the Four's Not A Crowd oneshot**

…

Octavius had never been so tired in his life. Trudging back through Rome, all he wanted to do was go to bed and have a good day's rest. Life was hard, currently; all three of the civilisations were having their exhibits remodelled, so there was a lot for the three leaders to do. Octavius hadn't seen his friends in at least a week, and he was starting to miss the adrenaline rush that came from their inevitable shenanigans, normally at Jed's suggestion.

The Roman leader knew he missed Jed the most.

"General, sir?" came a voice from behind him.

Octavius turned wearily. "Hello, Optio. What can I do for you?"

"Julius sent me to tell you that he wants you to go to bed," replied Optio Themis. "He says he's left some of his juniper tea out for you to help you sleep."

The general chuckled at the Optio's clear awkwardness. "You're probably unused to being used for such domestic messages."

"It would be the first time I have told the general that his cousin has made tea for him," Themis admitted. "But it's okay; I was on my way home anyway."

"Good." Octavius nodded. "Goodnight, Optio."

"Goodnight, sir."

Octavius sighed as the Optio disappeared down the street. He was grateful for the special tea that apparently only Julius could make; it seemed to be exactly what the drinker needed, whether they needed to wake up, go to sleep, or feel happy. He had no idea how his cousin did it, and Julius appeared in no hurry to share his secret.

As he was turning to head after Themis, he heard the footsteps of unfamiliar shoes behind him. His tired state made his brain panic so he involuntarily drew his sword and spun round in alarm.

The person standing behind him looked as tired as Octavius felt. Raising his hands defensively, he said, "Whoa, pardner. Friend, not foe."

"Jedediah?" Octavius had to blink several times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come an' see ya," the sheriff replied. "I had a spare moment. Work's keepin' all of us real busy."

"Everyone is busy," Octavius said. "Akna, Hilda, you, me. We haven't had time to even see each other, let alone spend time together like we used to."

"Yeah, I wish we all had the time to hang out again. But honestly, I jus' don' think we do at the momen'. I barely had a couple minutes to come over here and see mah best friend."

"How's Hilda been doing?" asked Octavius.

Jed pulled a face. "Not really sure. She's been splittin' her time between Flo and workin' on the train. Sum o' the other workers are gettin' annoyed; they say she ain't pullin' her weight around the place."

"And what do you think?" Octavius inquired.

"I think it ain't fair to hold her to the same standards as I hold mah other workers. She ain't Western; she don't really have the capacity to understan' how trains and the railroad work. We've tried to explain it to her but I just dunno if she can get it."

"Then perhaps the West is not the best place for her," the general said softly. "Perhaps she belongs in a civilisation closer to her time period."

"I guess that'd be Rome, then," Jed said reluctantly. "Gigantor says her civilisation was only a couple hundred years apart from yours. Maybe she'd have better luck fittin' in here… But… yannow, we gotta face the possibility of her not belongin' anywhere."

Octavius frowned. "What?"

"I mean, none o' the three civilisations here are really similar to hers. I do love havin' her here, but...maybe...maybe she just don't belong here."

The general opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the two heard a female voice from behind them: "Y-You want me to go away…?"

Both men spun round to find Hilda standing a little way off, staring at them with sadness and hurt in her eyes.

"Hilda…"

Jed was clearly lost for words, so Octavius attempted to explain. "Hilda, we didn't… We don't want you to go away. We li-."

"You don't have to lie to me anymore!" Hilda yelled abruptly, making Jed wince. "I don't belong anywhere so I may as well just leave!"

"No, Hilda!" Octavius protested.

But before they could move, Hilda turned and rushed away. Jed and Octavius followed her as quickly as they could, but she had disappeared by the time they got to the edge of the exhibit.

"Goddamnit!" Jed snapped, punching a nearby pillar angrily.

"This is all your fault!" growled Octavius.

"MY fault?!"

"If you hadn't been talking so openly about such a delicate topic, she wouldn't have overheard us and taken the wrong idea!"

Jed glared at his best friend. "I couldn'ta known she was there! I didn' know she followed me from the West!"

Octavius growled under his breath, knowing his friend was right. "Well, we need to find her and explain."

Meanwhile, Hilda was huddled under the bench in the middle of the diorama room, feeling a little sore from her fall. She knew her injuries would be gone the next morning anyway, so it didn't really matter to her, especially compared to the emotional pain she was experiencing at the same time.

A sudden clatter made her jump, but she looked back down when she saw who had landed a few metres in front of her.

"Sad," proclaimed Akna, placing her hands on her hips. "Why sad?"

"I-I just feel like I don't belong here," Hilda confessed. "Flo brought me halfway across the country but that's not even the hardest part. The hardest part is knowing I'll never really belong anywhere. My actual real exhibit back in the Smithsonian never felt like home for me… Guess that's because I only spent a few minutes in it. But even when I was alive, my village never felt like home. I never felt like I belonged. But...but...these last few weeks have been like heaven. I've felt like part of a real family. I was integrated into Jed and Octavius's family before I even left the Smithsonian. They immediately became my brothers, and I haven't once been worried that they don't care for me in the weeks I've been here…"

Hilda paused to draw breath, tears beginning to slip from her eyes. "I just heard them talking. Jed says I might not belong anywhere, and I...I just flipped. I thought that meant they didn't want me around anymore so I just ran away. After a long time of never belonging anywhere, I just… The first family I ever found doesn't want me. That's the most painful thing I've ever experienced."

After a further pause, Akna said, "Stop sad."

Hilda let out a wet laugh. "I love you, Akie. Thanks for being my family."

"We're your family too," came a soft voice behind them.

Hilda leapt to her feet as if she had been stung, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. "I-I…"

"Hilda, I'm sorry," Jed murmured. "I never wanted you ta think we don' want ya. I jus'... Clearly, we ain't tryin' hard enough to get ya settled. We... _I_ 'll try harder."

"No, you...you've been great," Hilda responded, clearing her throat. "You've all been great. We knew this wasn't going to be easy. We're just hitting a rough patch right now, that's all."

"How about you spend a little time in Rome?" suggested Octavius. "If that doesn't work, you can try the Mayans. Right, Akna?"

Akna nodded sharply. "You stay with me."

Hilda giggled. "I'd love that. Thanks, you guys. You're the best brothers and sister I could ever ask for."

She reached out and pulled Octavius and Jed into a hug, the lattermost of which yanked Akna in too. The four held each other tightly, three of them trying not to cry. Even Akna, who didn't always understand everything that was going on, understood the message of the hug.

"I love you," Akna said softly.

"I love you all," echoed Hilda.

Jed and Octavius didn't say anything. They didn't need to.

Their message was perfectly clear.


End file.
